Margarita Engle is the Cuban-American author of many verse novels, memoirs, and picture books, including The Surrender Tree, All the Way to Havana, Bravo!, Drum Dream Girl, and Dancing Hands. Awards include a Newbery Honor, Pura Belpré Medals, Golden Kite Award, Walter Honor, Jane Addams Award, PEN U.S.A., and NSK Neustadt Prize, among others. Margarita served as the national 2017-2019 Young People’s Poet Laureate. Margarita was born in Los Angeles, but developed a deep attachment to her mother’s homeland during childhood summers with relatives on the island. She studied agronomy and botany along with creative writing, and now lives in central California.
Nazareth Hidalgo Lobo is an illustrator and designer from Costa Rica. As a kid, she loved drawing and expressing herself creatively every chance she got. So it's no wonder that as an adult, she continues to express herself through her children's book illustrations. Naza enjoys exploring the nature and beauty of Costa Rica, where she often finds herself inspired by its magic and wonder. Her illustrations are vivid, colorful, and full of the joy found when kids are at play.